CURFEW TO OVERCOME TENSE SITUATION

Police yesterday clamped down an islandwide curfew following sporadic incidents reported from several parts of the country. The Curfew was to be lifted at 4 a.m. today except in the Gampaha Police Division and the North Western Province.

A curfew imposed in the North Western Province will continue until further notice while the curfew in the Gampaha Police Division was in force till 6 a.m. today.

Earlier last afternoon, a Police curfew was imposed in the Kuliyapitiya, Bingiriya , Dummalasuriya and Hettipola Police areas as a result of the tense situation, after several shops in the Kuliyapitiya area were stoned by mobs.Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera said that a curfew was imposed in the area on Sunday night after Police received reports of three shops being attacked at Kulipitiya.

He said that various rumours are being spread about these incidents but no person had sustained injuries due to these incidents.

In the wake of reported violence in some areas, Army Commander Lt.General Mahesh Senanayake in a hard-hitting statement last evening announced that the Armed Forces would not hesitate to use minimum or maximum force to stem any violence. He said that there had been incidents where some youth were involved in damaging and destroying properties and warned those who have planned to destroy or disobey the orders given by the government or the Armed Forces.

“We will take stern action to apprehend, arrest and even to fire on those creating violence by using the minimum or maximum powers given under the Emergency regulations,” he said. “We will ensure that the country will not plunge into violence due to extremism and terrorism. Please ensure that you do not get involved in such incidents or any illegal activities as the Armed Forces will not hesitate to curb and contain such a situation. “The Armed Forces are strong and capable of ensuring that there won’t be an escalation of violence in any part of the country.

We have deployed the Army, Navy and Air Force to assist the Police to protect law and order. I humbly request the youth in the areas not to get involved in unlawful activities as the Armed Forces will be compelled to bring any miscreants and lawbreakers to book,” the Army Commander said. Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera added that a separate unit has been established at the Police Headquarters to investigate persons who are involved in creating disharmony, hatred and creating a fear psychosis among the people through social media platforms. Making a false statement that would lead to creating rifts in society, uploading such statement on social media platforms, sending them to a third party is an offence under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act. The Police Spokesman’s office however, said that no major incident was reported yesterday following the tense situation which arose on Sunday.

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Appeal to the public

Last night, the police were forced to declare curfew around the country, due to the appearance of premeditated attempts to spark communal violence by interested parties who benefit politically from dividing, rather than uniting our country.

It is essential for the preservation of our democracy that the public supports the police in their effort to preserve the peace, prevent further violence and prosecute those responsible for provoking and carrying out such attacks.